This last weekend, nine Sun Star and journalism students and I drove a quick 360 miles to Anchorage to attend the annual Alaska Press Club Conference. The conference took place from Thursday, April 17, through Saturday, April 20 and covered a slew of topics in all areas of journalism including broadcast, print and new media.

These are the facts. But Press Club was so much more and there is entirely no way to expound upon the sheer amount of awe-inspiring content and ideas that were presented and absorbed. 

Since it’s well known that my own mind is always somehow absorbing music, I of course noticed some things; like the unstoppable force of Daft Punk and particular songs you wouldn’t expect particular professors to know all the words to.

Daft Punk is back and every one is happy. Ok, probably a little more than happy. Their first single in eight years “Get Lucky” dropped on Friday, April 19, and broke Spotify records with the biggest streaming day ever for a single track in the U.S. and U.K. In addition Coachella, a festival in California that has been occupying every social media outlet these last two weekends, was also beat out by Daft Punk. Receiving more trending activity on Twitter over headlining acts such as Phoenix and Blur, Daft Punk didn’t even have to show up and perform.

Throughout our time in Anchorage it became apparent that “Get Lucky,” was not only the biggest thing in the country, but also the unofficial theme to Press Club. Social Media & Video Innovation Editor at The Wall Street Journal Neil Mann talked of the new single in passing multiple times. NPR Data Journalist Lam Thuy Vo not only gushed about the single but used it to start off her panel on Friday.

That wasn’t all. At the Award-Banquet-turned-dance-party, “Get Lucky” sparked a groove journalists from Kenai to Fairbanks couldn’t keep locked inside their power suits. Even our own Editor-in-Chief Elika Roohi admitted “This is just such a great song. No wonder it was the theme of Press Club.”

While taking a break from the dance floor I chatted with NPR Journalist Robert Smith who said that he didn’t expect Alaskans to be so into “Hip-Hop and ‘80s music.” Yup. Robert Smith definitely summed that up, which makes sense due to the whole Sun Star staff realizing he is a literal journalistic genius throughout Press Club.

Just like Daft Punk, I felt like I was getting pretty lucky myself witnessing an event that should be probably be marked in the Journalism Department history books somewhere. UAF Journalism Professor Lynn Lott not only could dance but also knew every lyric of Macklamore’s “Thrift Shop” and some random iconic Snoop Dogg song. Impressed? Uh.. completely.

Artist: The Strokes
Album: Comedown Machine

This was coming and absolutely inevitable;  “Comedown Machine,” the last effort of a five-album deal with RCA – is a mess. I saw it coming and wasn’t looking forward to writing about it. News that the Strokes had no plans to tour this album, announced weeks before the album ever hit stores, was the big clue. Then the promo copy hit my desk, and I tried, I really tried. I’ve listened to “Comedown Machine” at least 20 times over the last week, and I can’t do it. There is no concentrated effort to make “Comedown” seem careless like Julian Casablancas can make anything seem. The Strokes brought cool back to rock in 2001 and truly didn’t give a shit about it. They sounded happily lethargic, and we all wanted to smell as bad as the beer stains that coated Casablancas hair, shirt and ripped up Chucks. Here though, I just don’t know whom I’m listening to. Casablancas doesn’t even sound truly himself until “Chances” – track nine. In all seriousness, the songs are boring and all the wrong lengths for the wrong ambitions. Now granted, that is a tough sell – saying the Strokes sound boring, can seem, well, like flabbergast. That’s what the Stokes do, sound bored. But here it’s just different. “Comedown” is essentially the scraps left on the studio floor at RCA. The more you listen, the more it becomes apparent Julian and the Strokes crew are happy to move on with their lives away from RCA and a 12-year deal that forced a lot of musicianship that probably wasn’t fully wanting or ready to be showcased.

Just “OK” Tracks: “All The Time”

Artist: James Blake
Album: Overgrown

James Blake has taken jazz and gospel influences and successfully blended them with modern electronic R&B. Blake’s vocal pitch varies from one syllable to another and drives an emotional response that is completely enthralling. “Overgrown” should be more aptly named “Perfectlygrown.” There isn’t one track on this sophomore release that doesn’t challenge but also remind of Blake’s previous work. Blake has appropriately progressed to another level in a genre that he’s curated all on his own. Repetitious melodies and varying textures excite songs that make you forget where you started and where you’re going.

Essential Tracks: “Life Round Here” “Retrograde” and “Overgrown”

Artist: Devendra Banhart
Album: Mala

Sometimes I forget that what may seem like a pretty “known“ artist in certain ways, can still always be a first time listen for others. So here, we’ve got Banhart, who spent most of his years growing up between Venezuela and California. Banhart has spent the later half of ten years releasing albums under the genre, ‘freak-folk.’ Banhart has always strayed from anything conventional concerning lyrical subject matter, compositional standards and overall musical objectivity. Banhart directs his music under his own misplaced compass and sometimes it falls short, but usually he succeeds unexpectedly well. That all said, here on “Mala,” Banhart does just that, he succeeds extremely well keeping his musical personality in check. He also has “calmed” down a little, opening avenues to certain audiences even wider than Banhart’s usual tunnels allow. Prop up a lounge chair, get a drink with a little umbrella in it, and soak in these sun-drenched melodies.

Essential Tracks: “Golden Girls” and “Your Fine Petting Duck”

I’ve become a little terrified. There are people lurking around campus with Nerf guns. It’s become apparent that there is an impending zombie attack here at the UAF campus and I’m not sure how to handle it. April Fool’s Day has come and gone and this isn’t a Fun Star story. I discovered last week I suck at coming up with satirical stories anyways. This is real.

Between the new UAF Humans vs. Zombies war, The Walking Dead finale and the premiere of the new remake of Evil Dead in theaters last weekend, I realized that appropriate music has always been an essential part of showcasing a proper gory death. I began to fantasize about what songs would accompany certain situations. This is all of course assuming we live our lives like movies and life is truly like “500 Days of Summer.”

Would an epic Arcade Fire sprawl like “We Used to Wait” suffice to depict my limbs stretching for each step towards survival from a zombie army? There is a lot to consider here. I don’t particularly want to go out with the cheesy “Top Gun” anthem “Highway to the Danger Zone.”

I’ve got to consider my theoretical significant other as well. Do we die together in each other’s arms waiting for our flesh to rot, and if so, what song is going to justifiably showcase our everlasting love? While undeniably popular, imagining a director chose Justin Beiber’s “Baby” to capture the mood is just as sickening as actually surviving and Beiber being the only other human left. I think Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” could really do my emotional depth some justice.

or

There’s many ways you could portray survival as well. An appropriate celebratory cocky anthem like Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” might be in order. Maybe something a little more appreciative like Jimmy Cliff’s “I Can See Clearly Now” is a better fit. Life’s looking up regardless, right?

and

When it comes right down to it though, “My Body’s a Zombie For You” by Dead Man’s Bones, is about as ritualistic as you can get when embracing the expiration of life itself. I mean, Ryan Gosling sings to you in a creepy seductive voice with hordes of children chorusing, “My body’s a zombie for you!” in the background over and over.

Screw the music – it could be silent and I really wouldn’t care how I was killed, if it was a Ryan Gosling zombie doing the deed.

It’s been two big weeks for KSUA. Late last Sunday night we returned from Austin, Texas exhausted with gigabytes of raw content on flash cards, reporter’s notebooks and in film canisters. This past week we’ve been busy trying sort out everything we collected into digestible pieces to be shared on air and online.

This year we were recognized as mtvU’s national winner for “Best College Radio Station” because of our multimedia efforts and support of KSUA’s listening audience.

Though our staff is ecstatic to win the recognition of MTV, the honor really belongs to our volunteers, community members and the students who fund student media at our university.

All staff members all had different objectives for what we wanted to achieve at SXSW, but all had a common goal of bringing new new music, social trends and media tactics to our university.

Part of that responsibility was attending panel workshops that addressed topics all over the world of music and radio. At a panel that discussed best social media and marketing practices, our group was found completely in the dark when the mobile-app “Vine” came up.  KSUA staff discretely exchanged looks, not wanting to appear as if we didn’t understand the conversation, but we genuinely didn’t. This is the cross-cultural exchange that can only happen at a festival like SXSW an international meeting of the minds which brings together professionals of all backgrounds focused on serving their audience.

One phenomenon we noticed in Austin was that more and more our generation is embracing the do it yourself culture. The old rules of going to college and getting a job right after graduation may no longer apply, and while some settle, others rise to the top by creating their own pathways. Bands like Austin based “Mother Falcon” whose members are the same age as many UAF students, exemplified this best. Most members were classically trained musicians with fewer opportunities to showcase their talents. Without symphony jobs, they made their own indie symphony, recorded their own album, and played all over Austin during the conference. Because of their efforts and attitude, the ensemble was recognized in two features by National Public Radio. KSUA has put together a video of their passionate final performance on the streets of Austin, and hopes to bring their enthusiasm and this lesson of social change in the music and media industries back to Fairbanks.

A persistent questions that KSUA faces regularly is “what are we doing right, and what can we improve on as a media group?” Conferences like SXSW work not only to help us recognize improvable areas but allow us to exchange ideas with other media organizations.

One of these needed adaptions became apparent this week when our website crashed from heavy traffic due to the publicity we received from our award. We realized our website theme was outdated and the large number of curious listeners were unable to access the site. We are working on a new theme that will better display photographs, television releases, and weekly staff blogs. We are also excited to announce a new mini-doc spotlighting Austin’s street performance culture within the coming weeks. The feature is a collection of live musical performances and interviews from artists all over the county. They span many genres but all share the same hope of impressing audiences at SXSW.

We hope you will tune in or visit our website to see some of the exciting features our radio and TV station is producing. Check us out at ksuaradio.com, ksuatv.com and or our Facebook page.

“Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream” is a documentary that aired recently on HBO, garnering the largest audience the channel has ever experienced. According to Nielsen, an astounding 1.8 million viewers tuned in for the inaugural showing on Feb. 16.

The only problem is the documentary kinda sucked.

Alright, that was really tough. As a man of proper dignity and proud of his love for such a diva as Beyoncé, I feel embarrassed.  Embarrassed that I forgot she’s not particularly from this world.

Beyoncé has lived a posh life, and the documentary doesn’t try to hide that at all. She also has had a great career without any missteps since the day she began throwing guys away for not paying the bills. Nobody really disputes these facts, nor should they. But there lies the problem with a documentary about a person that really hasn’t ever had any life problems. There’s nothing but inspirational motifs and motherly thanks that everything has turned out pretty fantastic.

It’s most likely my fault I expected so much. My friends and I even set up a night to just sit and watch with awe and anticipation of something marvelous and they were tricked too. Beyoncé tends to do that to people in the best way possible. Every move she makes, and every dance she performs, is flawless and mesmerizing.This documentary confirms that Beyoncé has been hypnotizing the general public since day one.

Pop music has transformed since the formidable years Beyoncé decided to grace us with her presence. Songs like “Bootylicious,” “If I Were a Boy” and “Run the World” all showcase stylistic pop that sounds ‘normal’ now, but only since she first sang them. There is no denying the praise Beyoncé deserves.

“Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream” reminds you of all these things, but the key is that the documentary only ‘reminds’ instead of showing you more. I wish that was my only complaint, because no matter if I learned anything new, I still wouldn’t mind just watching Beyoncé do whatever for a hour an a half any day of the week. Unfortunately, the whole documentary must have been produced by an amnesiac who kept trying to remember where the story left off, or where it should go next.

There are some extraordinary dance moves shown at various performances that somehow meant something ‘more’ to Beyonce than the others. But we’ve seen those before too. There were a few intimate moments of Jay-Z nerding out with Beyoncé in some restaurant or on some boat. That was neat to see and confirm they might actually love each other and are not just developing a ploy to rule the world.

I wanted to walk into this documentary ready for a high-cost episode of VH1′s ‘Behind the Music’ expecting some hidden issue or struggle. To have a few flaws would make Beyoncé even more impressive in our minds and build her up on a pillar that is so remarkable because she overcame ‘this’ or ‘that’. ‘Life is But a Dream’ portrays suspense around trying to hide Beyoncé’s pregnancy until she’s ready to reveal. I’m sorry, but that ‘problem’ isn’t going to suffice.

The documentary ends, the credits roll and Beyoncé has confirmed that she isn’t human at all. Nope, no mistakes, not one. Ok, she had a baby and named it Blue Ivy. Oh wait, still not a mistake.

But then there is this documentary. I would like to convince myself that Beyoncé must have figured she needed a misstep. Just one, at some point in her career to balance out all the success. This may be the safest fail she could ever ask for, and I’m starting to believe she truly planned it all along.

Taking a break this week from music reviews, let’s take a look at the 55th Grammys that aired last weekend.The Grammys is a historically hit and miss event that attempts to give recognition to the music industry as a whole.

In 2011 we saw indie darlings Arcade Fire walk away with Album of the Year. While in 2012, Bon Iver won Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist (we’ll let that slide even though his debut came out in 2008). In 2013, it seemed the Grammys was aiming to meld the Starbucks friendly “mom-pop“ Taylor Swift, Mumford and Sons, and Fun. nominations with indie standouts Frank Ocean, The Black Keys and Miguel. Here are the highlights good and bad.

First off, I’m pretty sure LL Cool J had never used a smartphone before taking the stage to host the Grammys this year. He seemed overly ecstatic about promoting #Grammys over and over again. LL Cool J, #tweetmuch?

While I won’t even try to cover every performance the Grammys featured, there were a few that especially stuck out, and not for the reason you’d expect. I discovered very quickly that Taylor Swift knows every word to every pop song and really, really likes to dance.

During Mumford and Sons:

During Bruno Mars:

During Fun.:

And during The Lumineers:

A little overboard, but I wasn’t kidding, Taylor Swift loves to dance.

The Black Keys walked away with awards for Best Rock Album for El Camino, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for Lonely Boy. They completely deserved the awards after making seven amazing albums over the last decade. The Black Keys also performed with Dr. John and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. It was a grandiose rendition of their Grammys winning single, Lonely Boy. And Dr. John wore this:

One performance that wasn’t too impressive in my mind was Fun. I admit right up front that I am biased, as I don’t think the band is worth a damn musically. I watched with my fists clenched, hoping for something amazing. Then it rained and Fun.’s lead singer wore weird pants:

My favorite act of the night came from a man who most likely should have a special place in all our hearts–Justin Timberlake. Timberlake is returning to music this year with a new album coined The 20/20 Experience and his welcome back performance was nothing but pure bliss and just for fun, included friend and hip-hop legend, Jay-Z.

Oddly announced right before the award was given, there was a new category for Urban Contemporary Album this year. Frank Ocean won for Channel Orange over woman-beater Chris Brown. Frank Ocean was completely elated and rightfully so. Channel Orange was hands down one of the strongest R&B albums of not only the last year, but probably the last decade.

Prince gave out the award for Record of the Year to Goyte’s Someone That I Used to Know and somehow I feel like he almost forgot to get out of bed because he walked out with a cane and a ripped up hoody on:

The night ended with Adele presenting Album of the Year to none other than Mumford and Sons.  I didn’t get to watch the Grammys live this year, but I was pretty happy with being able to fast-forward as much as I’d like with what ended up being a 3 1/2 hr. televised event with all the commercials. The Grammys will never please everyone, and expecting it to, is setting yourself up for disappointment. Overall, I hope the Grammys continues to try and incorporate the entirety of the musical landscape seen, heard and YouTubed across America. Really though, I’m just happy Fun. didn’t win Album of the Year.

Artist: Memory Tapes
Album: Grace/Confusion

An interesting thing has happened among artists previously associated with the genre coined ‘chill-wave.’ Musicians have realized that the genre really never existed and is just a description of how music was perceived at a particular exact moment. Memory Tapes was one of those musicians but has since become a born anew musician trying to forget his shaded past while forging an everlasting path ahead.  Like most journeys and the album title itself, there are slips here, but only noticeable if you knew where the adventurer started in the first place. Quite simply to the first-time listener, ‘Grace/Confusion’ is an enjoyable indie-rock album.

Essential Tracks: “Neighborhood” and “Through the Field”

Artist: People Get Ready
Album: S/T

With an urgency reminiscent of lead singer Dave Longstreth from The Dirty Projectors, Steven Reker wears his late ’90s influences so clearly, it’s hard to see the originality shining through. Yeasayer, the aforementioned Dirty Projectors, and David Bryne all come to mind with these indie pop imitations. Like a musical strobe light,  these songs’ affections are refreshing for just as long as you can forget there is the same sound already established behind that flashing disturbance. People Get Ready does pay great attention to minuscule details in their elaborate arrangements. But we’ll see if on their next release, that curates a more unique sound then the copycat personality shown here.

Essential Tracks: “Orange Grove” and “Shoe”

Artist: Ra Ra Riot
Album: Beta Love

Ra Ra Riot really didn’t make any musical advances on last year’s release, The Orchard, and Beta Love is the same story, but with a different type of misstep. Here we see two potentially great singles, and nine other tracks that just scream blah. What used to be a tight-knit orchestral pop outfit, has now lazily mingled their way into attempting a sound that falls flat. Sliming the band, adding weird hip-hop bass beats (Track seven AND eight, come on really?), and Police-esque infatuation is not working, plain and simple.

Essential Tracks: ”Beta Love” and “That Much”

Artist: Mountains
Album: Centralia

Ambient experimentalists, Mountains, has formed an hour’s worth of compositional foreplay. Swaths of cello, guitar and piano swarm your senses in the most distinct moments while still allowing major swallowing synths in to wash away your concentration. ‘Propeller’ the centerpiece of Centralia engulfs you with overlapping tremolos that makes the track ‘feel’ four minutes long instead of the actual 20 that just mentally restrained you.

Centralia ultimately succeeds as a tangible force because it so meticulously handles space and cohesion as if the composers are performing melodic alchemy before your eyes. Centralia is an expansive and massive overture to consume, but this duo from Brooklyn also distinctly borders songs with smooth instrumental segues and drawn lines between transitions not realized until it’s already happening. Mountains feels stronger and more collected as they handle ambition and limitlessness within one construct that justly mirrors the landform they’re named after.

Essential Tracks: ”Circular C,” “Sand” and “Propeller”

Artist: Angel Olsen
Album: Half Way Home

Angel Olsen croons with a passion and intensity that only scorned love could emblaze. Olsen collapses through her head space lyrically, revealing past heartbreaks but also naïve schoolgirl optimism that resonates with anyone that has wanted a companion in any capacity. Lust, longing and passion are themes that cling to every whelp that paints Olsen’s half-finished portrait of life. Not one song here feels motionless, and just like the title, I feel Olsen is only halfway ready to divulge exactly what relationship has caused so much strife. At times, Half Way Home can be a stressful journey for the listener, but in the end the album garners a respect unmatched among the sea of mindless ‘art’ that plaques our airwaves.

Essential Tracks: ”Acrobat,” “Lonely Universe,” and “Miranda”

Artist: Villagers
Album: {Awayland}

“Naked on the toilet with a toothbrush in his mouth,” is quite the introductory lyric Irish front-man Conor O’Brien heeds as the listener acutely realizes that folk music doesn’t have to be all banjo and ‘Ho Heys.’ Villagers, here on their third album succeed at intertwining intelligent but also witty lyrics. The right amount of piano experimentation and grandeur guitar symphonics make an album that echoes long after the silence has settled. O’Brien finds confidence in the musical fringe he uses to dress up song after song. While many folk releases these days easily get lost in the shuffle, hearing O’Brien’s confidence so subtly tuned makes {Awayland} feel uniquely warm and distinct.

Essential Tracks: ”My Lighthouse,” “Earthly Pleasure,” and “Judgement Call”

Artist: The Weeknd
Album: Trilogy

The Weeknd has been slowly affecting the independent music scene since late March of 2011. Abel Tesfaye began then with what would become a detailed execution of three free mixtapes over the course of nine months. In the Weeknd’s case, his attention to aesthetic detail and production quality set his mixtapes in a class completely all its own. The real substance comes from the story told by Abel. It sets Trilogy apart from anything music has seen in a long time. Now signed to a major label, a year and a half later, we get to see those original mixtapes remastered and released as a collective whole titled Trilogy.

The first mixtape released, House of Balloons reveals a night and morning after of absolute sex-driven, drug-laden abandonment. The amount of digress and awareness he displays towards screwing up his life, is pure nihilism. In the very first track, he warns his audience, “You wanna be high for this.” He effortlessly beds women against their best judgment and sings about it arrogantly.

Halfway through the album on “Wicked Games” Abel pleads, “Bring your love Baby I can bring my shame/ Bring the drugs Baby I can bring my pain.” And so you continue to watch the night pleasantly but grotesquely slime down a contorted rabbit hole. It leaves the listener feeling mentally dirty but also surprised at how quick they are to hit repeat on their stereo after the album finishes. That is because there is hardly an album that so blatantly exposes desire, hurt, and self-destruction laid over lush thematic palates of music.

That was the ‘fun’ night. Thursday, the next mixtape to follow, eh not so much. We see The Weeknd wander from pure cockiness (first track “Lonely Star”) to self-doubt (“Birds Pt. 1”) to tinged regret (“Heaven or Las Vegas”). The themes accentuated here are exactly what one would expect out of themselves if put in such a situation seen on Balloons. But to actually hear the insomniac-esque transformation in the form of a melodic heart-felt response is quite the beautiful surprise. 

This is how Thursday excels and also at times falters. Seen as the middle child of this Trilogy, (both physically and metaphorically) Thursday is definitely the hardest to grasp at times. Songs come and go with such varying amounts of emotional strain. While I hesitate to entrust so much credit, it is hard not to speculate that The Weeknd had this album echo this way on purpose. He has made an atmosphere that resonates how one muddy-minded hung-over individual analyzes the hellish but enjoyable journey the night before held for him. That uncertain haziness is what leaves the listener wanting more. Some sort of resolution feels essential at this point.

This is where Echoes of Silence begins and concludes. Here Abel exclaims his aspirations to heights unreached prior. With his first track on Echoes, a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” (retitled here simply as “D.D.”) he hits notes with a viscosity and prowess as if he was the ghost of Jackson himself. “No, No, No, Let me be!” he sings with new responsibility, letting us all sigh with relief that Echoes is truly going to show Tesfaye as a changed man.

Just because you’ve realized you want more out of life than one night stands and drugs, doesn’t mean it happens literally over night. What is so great about how this Trilogy wraps up, is that Abel knows this all before we realize it ourselves, and sings about it appropriately.

While this clarification is not exactly the idea the audience surely had in mind, the story was never too picturesque in the first place.This is a layering piece of work that not only makes you contemplate the underbelly of youthful cultural excess, but also the most basic of human instincts and its temptations.  Never has such a skewed, realistic exploration of male inhibitions been so blatant, explicit, and invoking.

The Weeknd’s technical first commercial release, Trilogy, by nature then is a tad daunting. Consuming thirty tracks is asking a lot from a first time listener. But with three CDs all labeled, packaged, and laid out as they were meant to be listened to, it can be manageable if approached correctly. Just as this review was a long time coming, so has been the wait for The Weeknd among the mainstream.

Essential Tracks: “What You Need,” “The Party and the After Party,” “The Zone,” “D.D” and “Initiation”

Artist: Crystal Castles
Album: (III)
Crystal Castles has found a success even though they have a tendency to be distant and emotive towards how they market themselves to their fan base. The dance-electronic-goth music that is curated by Alice Glass and Co. is especially intriguing. This is not only their third release, (III, duh) but also comes out in the wake of Sleigh Bells’ success since Crystal Castles put out their last record. Sleigh Bells essentially took Alice Glass’ abrasive bad-ass’ery and made it accessible. Both bands have their individual draws on the same melodic spectrum that is radically intense from the get-go. Castles, is harder hitting, more abstract, and just straight up havoc. On (III), the glitchy screams, and pressuring heart-racing beats will keep Castles out of the mainstream, but fans and Alice alike probably think that’s best.
Essential Tracks: “Kerosene,” “Affection,” and “Transgender”

Artist: Chad Valley
Album: Young Hunger
What a crazy idea! People actually loved the 80’s and the pop sensationalism that came from it. Chad Valley embraces the urban birth of snyths and cheesy saxophones. Valley utilizes emotive falsettos and wine-drunk breezy soundscapes. So get on your speedos and go hungry like a wolf already. These are dismal times, so stop giving a crap and let’s embrace these 80’s revival cuts like it’s MTV Spring Break in Cancun. With enough extra featured indie artists to script a modern day ‘Wonder Years’, this is retro pop that everyone could really love to hate, but it is really wonderful.
Essential Tracks: “Tell All Your Friends,” “Feel 4 You,” and “Fathering/Mothering”

Artist: Ultraista
Album: Ultraista
Nigel Godrich has been a long time collaborator with Radiohead. Godrich’s influence shines through here with consistent kick drum monotony and back beat pummels akin to the work he’s done in the past. Nigel only being half the setup here, we also see Laura Bettinson take vocal duties. Pretty, distinct, and consistent, Bettinson’s voice is a fair welcome. There are a few gems here that resonate more than the rest, especially the closing track “You’re Out.” While Ultraista’s debut isn’t necessarily a bad record by any means, it’s just that the whole project feels like an exercise for Godrich. We see a showcase of electronic krautrock expertise and while Nigel doesn’t bring anything revolutionary to the genre, he is just reaffirming his impact overall.
Essential Tracks: “Bad Insect,” “Party Line,” and “You’re Out”

Artist: Susanne Sundfor
Album: The Silicon Veil
I’m not sure what it is about Northern Europe. Maybe it’s the fact that a lot of their governments fund the arts or the fact that they have incredible health care systems so everyone is distinctly beautiful. Whatever the reason, the amount of genuine great music from Northern Europe is unparalleled to the crap-pot we often see here in the states. Folding genres into little packages that resemble rubric cubes is a normal affair. Susanne pleasantly croons over electronic and orchestral symphonies that don’t make the likely pair in writing. With confounding lyrics about gunplay, killers and personal vendettas, you wonder who burned her and how she still holds such a loaded beautiful voice. Wherever the ambition is coming from, Susanne does a great job of committing to the subject matter and intertwining it into complicated scopes of emotive snyth-pop.
Essential Tracks: “White Foxes,” “The Silicone Veil” and “Among Us”

Artist: Hundred Waters
Album: Hundred Waters
Well there’s something to be said about surprises. They are only fulfilling when truly genuine. I say that, because Hundred Waters is evidence to that sentiment. Every song takes what you thought is one sound, and gives it 16 others to process. Seemingly just to hold that ‘surprise’ longer and longer than ever expected. This lets Hundred Waters paint soundscapes that are cohesive, tightly orchestrated and still manages to pull in experimental nuances. Making beautiful music with ornate percussion and woodwinds, without the oppression of using them classically, is absolutely indulgent and rewarding. Electronic quirkiness flows in and out of tracks with ease and allows the best of folk to still shine while not being pigeonholed into a genre that tends to attract only a certain audience.
Essential Tracks: “Caverns,” “· · · — — — · · ·” and “Visitor”

Artist: METZ
Album: METZ
A return to distorted guitar work and ambitious flagrant screams, invokes a messy love for noise often forgotten in the electronic dabbling in this digital age of music. METZ could really give a rat’s ass if your fancy snyth or drum-pad can make some ‘neat’ sounds. Drums, guitars and persistent vocal strain are again proving to be all it takes to be effective. Blasting through one track to the next with an abandon completely unhinged is something that takes practice. Performing crap noise rock is easy. METZ effectually hones hours upon hours of repetition to produce noise that sounds like a mess. But in all actuality is a pristine nod towards everything that makes punk rock great and is a feat completely deserved and unseen these days. METZ successfully brings the excitement of seeing a band live, and conveys that on record perfectly.
Essential Tracks: “Rats,” “Wet Blanket” and “Headache”

Brady Gross is the Music Director at KSUA.  You can read more music reviews at ksuaradio.com.

I have worked at KSUA as the Music Director since November, and can truly say it is has been great to have the opportunity to be able to take a hobby you love, and project that into a working environment. My love and attraction to music has always ruled my life in ways unexplainable. The act of simply being able to share a band unheard or new genre to friends and family, has always been one of the best gifts I feel music can offer. Working at KSUA has allowed me to expand that audience to not only friends and family, but now the entire UAF college community and Fairbanks area.

No stranger to the insurmountable feelings that Valentines Day invokes, it still can be a tough day to comprehend appropriately. Unlike other holidays where usually there simply is a celebration of some event or person, Valentines Day has a true-tried tradition of having the general public absolutely despise the day or, be in “love” with it.

Having the hobby of being actively involved with music lends to my continual attempts to get by every year with doing some sort of corny mix-tape. Of course, most years, it ends up being a tape unused, unheard, but every now and then, it has the possibility to reach the right ear. I think these feelings are quite universal in that, for most, Valentines Day is more a day of hope. Hoping to make another feel special, or get that one moment of recognition from someone you adore. Whether you are happily married, in a relationship, single, or completely jaded toward love in the first place, there are countless songs to represent those feelings and are especially highlighted during those 24 hours of focused attention to “love.”

A few songs I’d like to share and have fallen for over the past year have those perfect feelings and ambitions bottled up in a short four to five minutes. Love is never as simple as it seems and these following songs encapsulate that theme. Cass McCombs “County Line” invokes restlessness and the struggle with wanting to find internal happiness in one place, while his wanderlust leads him to stray away from feeling comfortable with one place or person in general. On the other side of that idea, Sharon Jones’ “How Do I Let A Good Man Down?” takes a more direct approach in questioning the realm of one’s relationship… and realizing it is time to move on regardless of how great someone has treated them.

Kurt Vile’s “Baby’s Arms” is a true deepened love song that highlights the idea that you are so enamored with your partner, that you essentially care for nothing else. A love so strong that he swoons, “I get sick of just about everyone, And I hide in my baby’s arms.” While the title may be misleading, Molly Nilsson’s “I Hope You Die” has similar thoughts. “I know you think I’m morbid when I say, I hope you die by my side, the two of us at the exact same time,” takes love to the ultimate extreme of wishing it will live on past our physical beings on this earth.

Justin Vernon’s “Hazelton” tackles the tough task of letting go and dealing with the continual pain of handling these emotions publicly. Watching the other person move on to someone new and find happiness elsewhere, while not understanding what went wrong in the first place.

Best Coast’s “Boyfriend” does a great job of not over complicating matters by excitedly singing “I wish he was my boyfriend, I’d love him till the very end.” Finally, local artist Brandon Reid’s “If I Fell” perfects the traditional ambitions of Valentines Day by laying his heart and soul on the line with one of the most beautiful love songs to grace my ears. Listen and enjoy.

Last week I mentioned a couple of the various projects KSUA has live and active this semester: a new website, Take Out Sessions (including other awesome programs), planning concerts and events, and cross-over content with the Sun Star. But our staff also have more ventures planned for the near future. Typically KSUA operates on a staff of seven employees, right now we only have three.

At the helm of the station is the General Manager. As the GM my number one priority is to make sure KSUA follows broadcast laws of the Federal Communication Commission. There are a lot of legalities once a station is granted a license to broadcast. It it my job to make sure  nobody plays or says “@#$%” or “f-bomb!”, or really any other indecent language pointed out by George Carlin in the late 1970’s. (For more info check out his Seven Dirty Words routine.) Our broadcast equipment must also meet certain Federal requirements and maintain proper working order.

In addition the GM must maintain KSUA as a non-commercial station. As a non-commercial entity we cannot receive any type of funding for exchange of advertisements according to our license. This must be followed by the staff as well as each individual volunteer. After I’ve determined our station is upholding the law I’ve got to manage the budget, staff, paperwork, and overall health of the station.

Each semester we average somewhere between fifty to eighty volunteer DJs. With that many people invested into the station somebody has to organize all of it. This is where my right-hand man comes in, the Program Manager. (Actually, she’s a fairly womanly woman, but the right-hand metaphor remains.) The Program Manager facilitates, trains, and schedules all of our volunteers. The start of the semester is always fairly hectic for the PM since we have so many new faces around. Every new DJ with hopes of being on-air must be trained by a staff member of the station- usually is the PM. Each training session lasts around half an hour. During this time new DJs receive our KSUA Handbook with all of our FCC rules, station rules, and general KSUA FAQ’s. Training is also where our volunteers learn how to use our equipment. Any issues with programming are directed toward the Program Manager before any other staff member.

The General Manager and Program Manager also share an office with the Music Director. I often cite this position as the coolest job on campus, probably because it is the coolest job. You get paid to listen to music! This is where I began my KSUA employment,  my memories starting out are fond. Like I said, the MD basically gets paid to jam out in the office twenty hours a week. How cool is that?

Every Tuesday the MD must submit our playlist report to the College Music Journal publication. These reports are generated from what our DJs are spinning off the rack of CDs record labels and promoters send to KSUA. The MD is responsible for the album reviews posted for each new CD, so in this way the MD creates the “sound” of the station. On average our station receives 50-100 new albums in the mail each week. The only tough part of this job is sorting through all the music.

Okay, so those are the positions on one side of our hallway. On the other side you can find our Production Director and KSUA Engineer. The Production Director is the go-to staffer for any public service announcements, station I.D.’s, automation questions, and audio file edits. This particular position has been vacant since January (our guy got promoted at his news station job), but we just purchased a copy of new audio software and we’re itching for somebody to break it open!

Since Production has been empty our KSUA Engineer took said duties upon himself in addition to his outlined job description. Most of the time the KSUA Engineer will focus entirely on our broadcast equipment like the transmitter. Due to the nature of a student-run station we don’t always have answers to all of our problems, so we seek out help of professionals. In this way KUAC has been of great help, and it’s proven to be a  valuable learning experience for our engineer.

Down the hallway is our KSUA-TV quarters. I think the last time the TV station was staffed was over two years ago. I’m hoping things change this year and KSUA-TV will become a phoenix out of the ashes, so to speak.

So there you have it, a break down of the KSUA staff. As I’ve mentioned, there are a few gaps to fill in on our staff roster. Interested in joining? Perfect! The Music Director, Program Director, and TV Programming will all be posted at uakjobs.com the week of September 12. You can apply online or email manager@ksuaradio.com for more information. Each position will be posted for two weeks and all student employment requirements must be met.

Greetings from KSUA 91.5FM Radio & TV, your student-operated college radio station! The staff at KSUA are busy formatting the fall 2011 programming schedule, training our new volunteer DJs, editing countless audio files from the last year, and doing whatever 1,001 other projects we’ve taken upon ourselves. This summer we teamed up with the UAF Concert Board and the Pub to host Murder By Death on June 24th. This semester we are hosting exciting new events and concerts, like this Saturday’s KSUA party at the pub, editing and publishing our recent recordings with performers who pass through Fairbanks in our Take Out Sessions, and working to provide a plethora of new audio content from our friends at the Sun Star.

KSUA’s mission is to provide programming otherwise unavailable to the community and provide an outlet for students interested in the broadcast industry. In 1993 the UAF student community voted to make KSUA the ‘alternative’ station in Fairbanks. The term alternative has become much more broad in the last twenty years, but the idea remains the same. We want to be cool, and we want to be different. This may mean playing the new Insane Clown Posse single originally written by Mozart and produced by Jack White, or it may simply take the form of a radio drama about zombies. We’re pretty much open to anything new, original, funny, or really obscure.

If you’ve ever had an interest in radio, broadcast journalism, music, live entertainment, science, medicinal Chinese history, pole vaulting, post-progressive folk rock, teacup piglets, belly button lint, or anything else, KSUA might be the place for you. In general each program lasts one to three hours long once a week. Every semester we host around 50-75 volunteers on the FM schedule, and this year we’re hoping to become much more active in television. Don’t be discouraged if you’re not involved in the Journalism department or don’t have high hopes of becoming the next John Peel. When I applied for my first radio show I was a Freshman in the Physics department. Now I’m working towards my B.S. in Geology and manage the place… it’s awesome!

One of the unique things about KSUA is its laboratory nature. Everybody involved has the chance to learn something new, whether it be in audio production, film editing, music reviewing, or more recently PR and design. Want to learn web design? Well, I can’t tell you how to do it, but you can come up and learn with the rest of us!

As for the KSUA family, our DJs are made up of a wide array of student volunteers. Our programming this semester includes the likes of:

• Video game/movie/comic reviews with Spoiler Alert!, Tuesdays 8-10 PM
• Tech talk with General Protection Fault, Wednesdays 6:30-8 PM
• Hip hop Mondays and Wednesdays with Ground Zero Hip Hop with DJ 50/50, midnight-2AM
• News and sports with The Morning Blend, 8-9AM 
• Saturday Morning Jazz, 10-noon
• Story-themed metal with The Heavy Hymnal ,11-1PM Sundays

All this, and just about anything else you could imagine!

New DJs must host a daytime programming (8am-5PM) show for their first semester, but once a show has completed a semester on-air, the DJs can request times within the ‘specialty’ schedule. Specialty programs air during evenings and weekends. The idea is that listenership increases during these times. Otherwise, daytime shifts are required to play music from our Playlist. Playlist material is sent to us from record labels and promoters throughout the world. From this music we report our college radio charts to a publication titled CMJ, or College Music Journal. The emphasis is on ‘indie’ music, though we get genres ranging from new age to goth. Come check out our CD library, which houses over 50,000 discs from a broad swath of genres.

Come say ‘hi’ and stop by the studio on 3rd floor Constitution Hall (right above the bookstore) or email manager@ksuaradio.com. We look forward to another awesome year!

Ephy Wheeler
General Manager
KSUA 91.5 FM